Death Proof [2007]

Second movie from Grindhouse package (the first one is Planet Terror), is a product of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino cooperation. This time story revolves around Stuntman Mike, a killer with an unusual weapon, his “death-proof” stunt car. As you probably guessed, this slow-burner is also another homage to the exploitation genre, highly popular during the sixties and seventies. This time American fascination with muscle cars, pretty girls and murder created one hell of a movie. Quentin really defined the standards when we’re talking about projects like this. Thick atmosphere, incredibly cool characters and impressive visuals are something that I truly enjoyed in. Fucking Kurt Russel nailed his role as Stuntman Mike, he was fucking born to play these roles of rugged and extremely self-confident cool guys. Joined by not only very beautiful but also talented Zoe, Rosario, Vanessa and finally, Quentin’s favorite Rose, Rose McGowan.

He’s name is Mike, Mike the Stuntman. Driving around in his stunt car, equipped with a roll-cage and many other tweaks, he’s looking for young and pretty girls. Why is he looking for them, is up to you to find out.

There are a couple of layers in this movie. The first one is the most obvious one, classic pulpy horror. We can enjoy in strong characters, impressive visuals and stunts. Speaking of the special effects and stunts, I must admit that they are some of the best in business. Old school carnage, without that fake CGI special effects. If you took this layer and said that’s it, there’s nothing more to this movie, you would be wrong. The second layer consists of homage to the exploitation, best check out this review of another grindhouse flick called Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! from 1965. The third layer is the place where we really get into the meat of this movie. Strange and cliched dialogue, slow pacing, hidden and not so hidden drives in action (sexual, death drive) and finally, the entertainment factor created the ultimate guilty pleasure. Depending on your taste, you will be able to see certain layers and this will ultimately create your opinion about this strange movie. This is a purely personal preference, so be sure you like this type of stuff before you hit play.